Rebic came off the bench in all three of Croatia's group matches in Brazil four years ago, but the 2014 tournament ended on a sour note for the Eintracht star after he was shown a red card in the closing stages of the Vatreni's final Group A encounter with Mexico. After appearing in the 1-1 qualifying draw with Italy in June 2015, the 24-year-old had to wait over two years for his next international call-up.
In October 2017, new head coach Zlatko Dalic named Rebic in his 24-man squad for the all-important World Cup play-offs against Greece. The fleet-footed attacker has come on leaps and bounds since, becoming more tactically aware while learning to curb his temper. Having started on the right wing in both of Croatia's pre-tournament friendlies against Brazil and Senegal, Rebic is hoping to keep his place in Dalic's starting XI for their Group D opener against Nigeria this weekend.
Croatia’s Group D fixtures: Nigeria (Saturday 16 June, Kaliningrad), Argentina (Thursday 21 June, Nizhny Novgorod), Iceland (Tuesday 26 June, Rostov)
Best World Cup finish: Came third at their first-ever World Cup appearance in France in 1998, beating Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
World Cup 2014: Despite a comfortable 4-0 victory against Cameroon in their second group game, Niko Kovac's team failed to reach the knockout stages after losing 3-1 to both Brazil and Mexico in Group A.
World Cup 2018 expectations: Qualifying for the last 16 won't be straightforward. Nigeria are always tough to beat, while Croatia slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat in their most recent meeting with Iceland. With 2014 runners-up Argentina favourites to win the group, Dalic's troops will have to be at their best to reach the knockout stages.
Key players: There is fierce competition for places in Croatia's midfield, with Barcelona's Rakitic (estimated value according to Transfermarkt: €50 million) and Real Madrid duo Modric (€40 million) and Mateo Kovacic (€30 million) all jostling for a starting berth. Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic (€40 million) is expected to start on the left wing for the Vatreni, who are currently 20th in the FIFA World Rankings.
12.06.2018
News-Archive
